We were shocked to see that the Senate and House are both proposing a huge budget cut for Medicaid by assuming over $350 million in savings for “program integrity.” The Health Care Authority says these extraordinary savings assumptions are unrealistic. Even worse, the Senate includes significant additional Medicaid cuts (see our budget update for details)....

Required vaccinations are a hot topic in the legislature this session. Long-standing scientific consensus summarized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Washington State Department of Health underlines the safety, effectiveness, and importance of these vaccinations. A recent measles outbreak centered in Southwest Washington, almost entirely among unvaccinated children, reminded us...

In this last year of the decade that began with Congress passing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), our state is poised to take its biggest step yet towards preserving important health care rights for Washingtonians, come what may in D.C. or federal courts. The Washington State Legislature has passed a bill (SHB 1870) to make...

Is it time to broaden health coverage for all, or should we cut the health care budget? The differences between progressive Democrats’ vision of Medicare for All and President Trump’s proposal to make draconian health care cuts couldn’t be starker. Progressive Democrats have put forward new proposals to achieve health care for all. In February,...

TAKE ACTION: Contact your Representatives and Senator to ask them to support E2SHB 1523, 2SSB 5526 and 2SSB 5822, especially if they are on a health care committee or in a swing district. Find your Representatives and Senator here. Midway through our legislative session, we’re watching bills to address systemic problems in our health insurance...

We have often heard consumers speak out about their frustration with getting care in a timely fashion through their insurance plan. This legislative session, House Bill 1099, sponsored by Representative Laurie Jinkins, addresses access to mental health and chemical dependency treatment. The bill is one of many this year intended to improve access to behavioral...

TAKE ACTION: Contact your Washington State Senator to urge passage of SB 5602! Click here for a list of senators and a script. The Reproductive Health Care Access for All Act (RHAA) would be a step toward attaining reproductive health equity for Washingtonians. The bill (SB 5602), currently in Senate Rules after passing out of...

We’re thrilled to welcome Charlie Mitchell to the NoHLA team as Senior Attorney. We asked him to share a little about himself: I am delighted to join the NoHLA team as Senior Attorney after 28 years as a civil legal aid attorney. I grew up in Seattle and the Portland area, and graduated from Whitman College...

By Ann Vining, NoHLA Staff Attorney Policymakers in Washington State have worked for several years to develop an affordable way for state residents to pay for coverage of long-term services and supports (LTSS) – coverage that offers an alternative to Medicaid. The majority of people over sixty-five years of age will need LTSS within their...

By Ann Vining, NoHLA Staff Attorney In 2002, Washington State began offering a Medicaid program designed for people with disabilities who engage in employment, shortly after Congress passed legislation to allow this. Washington’s “Healthcare for Workers with Disabilities (HWD)” program allows workers with disabilities to work without losing services that only Medicaid provides, including residential...